Noise Complacency? I’ll Just Turn it Up!

It seems like yesterday that I was being yelled at by my multiple apartment neighbors to lower the music that was blaring from my dad’s apartment back in Brooklyn. That was four years ago, and since that point I have always been concerned with the volume of my music, tv, ect.

Oh how times have changed.

Now that the average separation between me and my closest neighbors is 60 feet and not a 12 inch thick wall, I could really care less about my volume.

Four speakers line one wall of my bedroom.

This is a topic that needed to be discussed this week rather than another household how to. I could be wrong but I feel that every person who has moved from an apartment to a house has gone through this change.

Lets be honest, once the only people who can hear you are the ones that live with you, your first thought is, “screw their ears.”

Although your roommates may not share your sentiments, that is not your problem. I almost see the right to buy a 6 speaker surround sound system just for your bedroom to play your music as loud as you want is a reward for paying your dues in an apartment.

Marcus's entertainment set, which can blow mine out of the water, stands proudly in the living room.

This carries us into the conversation of how the confinement of an apartment can change somebody’s personality. for myself it made me a lot less needy and in some senses, a minimalist. I think that in the end it is for the best mainly because most people in my generation will need to make the opposite transition and need too much for their space.

I’ll never forget the day I moved to Arizona, I only had one suitcase, and my wardrobe didn’t grow much from there for a while.

That is the story of someone who moved from an apartment. It seems much more compelling than the contrasting view.

Adam said, “I know this is a good-sized room but I just have too much stuff. I mean why should I have the room with a bathroom if I can’t even get the door to close.”

I am in no means calling Adam spoiled, but this shows how different people who grow up in houses think about their possessions as opposed to those who were raised in apartments.

I don’t want to continue on this roll because I can go for days. However I would like all of you to pick it up where I left off. Tell me:

Do you blast your music?

Do you care about your neighbors?

Do you let your roommates sleep?

If you can answer those questions and start this conversation I would be more than happy to join in.